Abstract

In the recent past, the rate of alien species introduction has increased enormously, which is one of the main causes of the loss of biodiversity throughout the world. Pet trade is one of the important channels that lead alien species to invade local ecosystems. In Taiwan, alien reptiles have become popular pets in recent years that increased the risk of invasion. In order to evaluate the probability of alien reptile invasion, it is essential to know how many species of alien reptiles are present in the pet market. From March 2004 to February 2005, we investigated the alien pet reptiles in Taiwan. We checked the pet shops, aquaria and night markets to record the sales of reptiles in Northern, Central, and Southern Taiwan. We visited a total of 341 venders, some of which were visited more than once, and identified 239 species of alien reptiles. From this list, we suggested 10 popular, 14 dangerous, and 8 CITES I species for careful management and strict regulation. A small number of large pet shops carry most of the species, which suggests the sources of importation is limited to a few wholesalers, probably distributed in a few major ports within the island. It would be more efficient to focus on the upstream wholesalers in order to monitor the reptile trade markets. The sheer number of animals found in the pet trade poses the risk of invasion. Other factors, such as the similarity between the pet’s original and new environment, reproductive potential, habitat requirement, and diets of these reptiles, are suggested to be crucial in evaluating the risk of alien pets.

中文摘要

近年來世界各地外來種的引進快速的成長並造成當地生物多樣性的破壞。而寵物交 易行為是外來種引進的重要管道之一。在台灣，外來種爬行動物在寵物市場的交易日漸活絡，這些物種入侵的可能性也就相對提高。為了評估這些外來種爬行動物入侵的可能，先行了解有多少種類在寵物市場上是首要工作。從2004 年3 月至2005 年2 月，我們調察臺灣北中南三地341 家的水族館，共發現239 種外來種爬行動物。從其中我們建議了10 種最熱門、14 種危險及8 種屬於CITES I 的物種，這些物種需優先管理及追蹤調查。在我們的調查中發現少數大型的商家擁有大多數的外來種爬行動物，這可能是因為主要引進的通路僅限制在少數進口商中。所以在未來監測外來種寵物市場，針對上游的進口商進行管理應可獲得較有效率的結果。外來種引進的數量、原生地和當地環境相似度、生殖潛力、棲地需求及食性都可能是評估入侵風險相當重要的因子。

Keyword: Invasion, Trade, Biodiversity